


It's Just An Experiment!

by nannersmelo



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bruce is doing his best, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, M/M, Natasha Is a Good Bro, Tony is an insecure bean, also, and Steve is over the top as usual, clint is a little shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-29
Updated: 2019-10-29
Packaged: 2021-01-08 06:23:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21231248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nannersmelo/pseuds/nannersmelo
Summary: Bruce was only trying to compliment him, but of course he interpreted the other way.Tony Stark was not tiny, and he was going to prove it!





	It's Just An Experiment!

**Author's Note:**

> This was literally birthed from a Twitter prompt that caught mt attention and had peeps requesting me to write it msksnsjskdm I don't know if it turned out as you guys were expecting, but I sure enjoyed writing! Do I hope you enjoy too ♡
> 
> Leave your thoughts and opinions if you can! They are highly appreciated <3

"The _fuck_ do you mean I have small hands?!"

Bruce raised his head to shoot him an unimpressed look, "I was literally just praising you, Tony."

"Saying I got small hands that are good enough to help with tinkering? What kind of compliment is that?!" Tony's nostrils flared, earning himself an eyeroll from Bruce as he turned his attention back to the hologram they were studying. Tony's eyes narrowed, "Bruce!"

Bruce sighed, "They are not that small, Tony. They are just fit for you, given your height."

Tony gasped, "Now you're calling me small too?!"

"Can you stop overthinking everything?" Bruce grumbled, turning his annoyed gaze to a pouting Tony, "I didn't mean anything by it, it's not that deep."

"Put your hand up." Tony suddenly demanded, causing Bruce to arch a brow.

"Come again?"

"Your hand! Lift it up!" Tony ordered once more, lounging for his lab partner's hand and forcing him to raise it, palm open.

"Tony, what—"

"I just wanna see something!" He explained, flattening his own palm against Bruce's, who kept eyeing him quizzically. Tony's eyes narrowed for a moment, and after a few seconds of consideration, he removed his palm from Bruce's with a triumphant expression, "Aha! They are the same size, even though you are a few inches bigger than me, so you got no business calling me small, brucie-bear."

"Really?" Amusement was clear in Bruce's tone as he pocketed his hands and smiled teasingly at Tony, "Does that really count when I can turn into a giant green monster with hands bigger than your head?"

Tony opened his mouth, only to close it again after a second and widen his eyes, "That's not fair!"

Bruce shrugged, "Is not like it's a competition, Tony."

"The he'll it isn't! J?"

"_How can I be of aid, sir?_"

"Are the others in the tower?"

"_Everyone but Mr. Odinson, sir. Apparently he had a romantic encounter with Mrs. Foster this evening, but the rest of the team is currently gathered in the communal floor and engaged in light conversation_."

"Great! Thor is kind of a God, so he doesn't count anyway," Tony beamed, taking a hold of one of Bruce's lab coat's sleeve and dragging him towards the elevator, "Time to figure this out."

"Tony!" Bruce protested as he was unwillingly dragged into the metal box that began to move as soon as they entered it, "Are you serious about this? I was just joking!"

"Can it, big guy. This is just another scientific experiment."

"To figure out if you are the smallest among us? Do we really need science to figure that out?"

Tony released an affronted noise, "I'm not the smallest! Natasha is much smaller than me!"

"Nat is a woman, Tony," Bruce rolled his eyes good naturedly, "and for the average female height she is quite tall. I meant between us guys."

"That's bullshit and you know it." Tony huffed, "I bet Barton is the same as me."

"Hardly. Last time I checked, he was some inches taller than you. He got more bulk, too."

"Twenty bucks says you're wrong!"

Bruce snorted, "Whatever you say, pal. You are the billionaire."

The elevator's doors opened, and Tony immediately sauntered off of it and headed straight towards the big living room where he knew his team currently was. 

They were talking about something Tony couldn't quite hear, but Barton and Steve were sitting on one of the couches while Natasha sat atop the kitchen island, munching on a PB&J sandwich. The sight was almost too domestic, and the thought of it warmed Tony's heart in a way he wasn't quite expecting.

He smiled lightly. As silly as it may sound, he did find a family in this gathering of freaks, didn't he?

He clapped his hands, interrupting the talk going on between the three of them and earning their attention, "Attention, my most illustrious team! You are about to partake in a scientific experiment!"

Barton groaned, shoving a cushion against his face, "Again? But the baseball game is about to start!"

"Oh shut it, birdbrain. You know JARVIS can just record anything you guys want to watch, so stop making a scene." Tony rolled his eyes, earning a petulant pout from Clint.

Bruce chuckled from behind him, "Are you really calling someone out for making a scene when that's exactly what you're doing?"

Tony shot him a glare, which only caused the scientist to laugh more.

"What is this about, Tony?" Steve curiously asked as he came to a stop before Tony, Nat right by his side. Tony almost jumped at the sudden — and rather silent — proximity of those two.

"Jesus, what the hell? Do you two really need to be so good at sneaking up on people?" Tony complained, massaging the spot on his chest where the arc reactor sat. That earned him a chuckle from Steve and a smirk from Natasha.

"Stealth just happens to be our specialty, _solnyshko_, stop being so dramatic," Nat admonished as she gently patted his cheek, his lower lip jutting out in a pout, "now, what has big green done this time?"

"Hey, I haven't done anything!" Bruce protested at the same time Tony said, "He called me tiny, so I want to prove him that I'm not that small."

That got both Nat and Clint laughing, while Steve cocked a brow at his disgruntled co-leader, "And why is that so important? Your height does not affect your importance or position in our team, Tony."

"It's about respect, Rogers! Respect!" Tony rebuked, gesturing wildly, "How am I supposed to lead this peanut gallery with you if they don't even respect me!"

"Since when do you lead anything?" Clint asked nonchalantly, resritng his feet on the marble coffee table while throwing the cushion up and down without a care in the world.

Tony gasped and pointed at the archer, "See? That's what I mean. No respect!"

Steve sighed and shook his head in amusement, "Alright, what do you need us to do? And Barton, get your feet off the table and stop being a brat. This is not your floor."

"Fineeeeee," Clint whined, but begrudgingly obeyed, which got Tony to narrow his eyes.

"_You_ they obey."

"Tony!" Steve laughed, earning a huff from the mechanic, "What do you need?"

"Put your hands up, I wanna see something."

The trio exchanged amused glances, but did as they were told. Tony went for Natasha first, placing his palm against hers. It was petite, and fit almost snuggly against his. She smiled at him and winked, "Tiny but murderous, try not to forget that."

Tony smiled, gently grabbing her hand and placing a kiss on her knuckles, "Wouldn't dream of it."

She smirked in satisfaction as Tony released her hand and moved to Barton, who was eyeing him suspiciously, "You won't kiss my hand too, right?"

Tony made a face, "Why the fuck would I? There's nothing on you worth of praise."

Clint gasped, faking outrage, "Stark, you wound me! Whatever shall I do without your sweet kisses and praises!"

That actually startled out a laughter from everyone, even Tony, who just slapped his palm against Clint's, "God, I hate you."

"If you actually did, you'd have kicked me out a long time ago," Clint smartly pointed out, earning a thoughtful hum from Tony as he analyzed and measured their hands. The archer narrowed his eyes, "Man, I feel like Tarzan or something. This is so weird."

"Do you ever shut up?" Tony complained, removing his hand and huffing slightly, "Your hand is kinda bigger than mine, which is ridiculous. You are not that much bigger than me!"

Clint shrugged, "What can I do? It just be that way sometimes."

Tony groaned, moving to his next test subject, "Please, stay away from the internet. The last thing I need is you communicating through memes."

"But they are funny!"

Shaking his head, Tony came to a stop in front of Steve, whose eyes were crinkling at the corners as he smiled at Tony, hand raised like the good soldier he was. Tony regarded him for a moment, taking in all the lines of his expression and how absolutely stunning the man looked even during a comfortable day of lazying out on the couch.

It didn't cross Tony's mind earlier in the lab once he had this stupid idea, but Steve was much bigger than him. Maybe not as much as Thor or Hulk, but his physique of carefully crafted muscles made Steve seem far bigger than he actually was, which had Tony swallowing in hesitancy as he moved his eyes from Steve's ridiculously blue gaze towards his large palm.

It took him a second of consideration, but Tony finally moved his hand to meet with Steve's, feeling his eyes grow wide as dinner plates as the size difference stared right back at him.

Tony's hands were not delicate. Far from it, they were caloused and covered in tiny scars from all his time fixing and building things, which made a stark contrast against Natasha's slender fingers and smooth skin, but still looked fairly normal against Bruce and Clint's own hands, so he hadn't seen much to be impressed.

Now Steve's? Somehow managed to make Tony's hand look small and fucking dainty.

His skin was warm, far warmer than the other's had been, and his elongated and rather chunky fingers practically eclipsed Tony's own as he moved their fingers together and took a moment to understand the sensation. Steve had been watching him in silent curiosity, but Tony couldn't move his eyes away from their hands, and neither could he ignore the sparks of electricity that seemed to course through their conjoined digits.

_Fuck_. He thought, enthralled. _I wasn't expecting his to be this bigger._

He finally forced himself to look away from their hands and meet Steve's gaze, and Tony was immediately struck by the overwhelming softness that seemed to ooze from the captain's eyes, which somehow had become even bluer since the last time Tony had looked into them a few minutes ago.

Suddenly, Tony completely forgot what he was even doing there as he was held captive by Steve's eyes. It wasn't fair, really. Tony was sure he had gotten over this stupid child crush he had developed for Captain America when he was a kid — Howard's obsession with the man helping to stomp down those feelings fairly easily as admiration morphed into hatred — but again, this wasn't quite Captain America who was looking at him with affection and as if he was something worth admiring, was it?

No, the one currently in front of him was Steve Rogers. Not a larger than life legend, but yes an overly strong man who sometimes broke the microwave while trying to understand how it worked and who loved to just spend time with Tony at the workshop, sketching away in one of his countless art notebooks while lying down on the couch Tony had procured for him once he made a habit of it. A man who loved dogs and was weak for pizza, just as Tony was weak for a good cup of coffee. A man who had the strength to break bones, but still gently swayed his fingers against Tony's, almost playfully.

Yeah, Tony had gotten over his crush on Captain America... But his crush on Steve Rogers was a completely different story. 

"So?" Steve's gentle voice pulled him back to reality, causing Tony to blink confusedly at his smiling face, "What is your veredict?"

"I— uh—," Tony stuttered, looking from Steve's face to their hands, and then back at Steve, "Yours is, uh, hilariously bigger. Yeah."

"Is that so?" Steve softly asked, interlocking their fingers and gently pressing the pads of his fingers on the back of Tony's hand, practically swallowing it, "I disagree."

Tony blinked dazedly, sensing Steve stepping loser, "How so?"

"They seem perfectly made just for mine." He huskly answered, causing Tony's heart to speed up inside his chest and almost push out the arc reactor in the process. _Holy shit, did he really say what I think he just said?_

"S-Steve?" Tony forced out of his parched throat as the man in question kept stepping closer, reaching for Tony's other hand and enlacing those fingers too, sending yet another bolt of electricity coursing through his veins, "What... What are you...?"

"Just something I've been hoping to do for awhile now, but never really had the courage to." He smiled bashfully, his beautifully ivory teeth barely showing, "Nat has been helping me out with it."

"You mean—" Tony breathlessly asked, the question lingering in the air. Steve nodded. _Oh shit_. "But— They are—"

"Gone." Steve calmly said, surprising Tony and causing him to look around. Indeed, the others were nowhere to be seen, "Nat pulled both out at some point."

Tony hitched a breath, looking back up towards Steve, who kept eyeing him hungrily in a way he never imagined Steve would be capable of looking at anyone. He opened his mouth to say something, when he felt his back soflty collide against a nearby wall, surprising him and causing his mouth to fall shut just as Steve shortened even more the space between them, their mouths inches apart, breaths mingling together.

"You know..." Tony rasped, tightening the hold on Steve's hands as the super soldier pressed both on the wall by the sides of Tony's head, completely pinning him down, "if this is some kind of dream in which I'll wake up from in a few seconds, I'll be pretty pissed."

"Not a dream," Steve muttered, to which Tony exhaled shakily.

"Then why exactly haven't you kissed me yet?"

Steve stared at him with those round blue eyes, which seemed to spark with both uncertainty and excitement, "Not sure if you'd like it."

It was Tony's turn to stare, since he could not believe his own ears. Steve literally had him cornered, trapped between his powerful arms and practically shaking with anticipation, but he still wondered if this would be ok? If Tony would give him consent?

Was that man _even real_?!

Grunting and refusing to entertain any further thoughts, Tony lunged forward and captured Steve's lips in a searing kiss, what seemed to surprise the captain, if the gasp Tony greedily swallowed was any indication. The kiss was messy for a moment as Steve gathered his bearings, but once he did, Tony couldn't help but to moan against his lips as Steve fought back for dominance and won, parting the seams of Tony's lips with his tongue and plundering the insides of his mouth with gusto, successfully taking all of Tony's breath away.

His legs failed him when Steve actually pressed him against the wall, but the big hands that were still holding his released their hold on them and proceeded to snake through his waist, pulling him flush against the wall of muscles that was Steve Rogers, traveling through the expanse of Tony's back from under his shirt and successfully making him melt.

Struggling, he threw his arms around Steve's neck, burying his fingers through his soft hair as he lost himself in the feeling of being so hungrily kissed by the man he had been desiring for the past two years.

After what felt like hours, the kiss finally came to an end, leaving both panting and breathless as they clung to each other for dear life — actually, Tony did. He wasn't trusting his legs much at the moment.

"Holy shit," he gasped breathlessly against Steve's shoulder, "guess that answered if I wanted this or no, huh."

Steve hummed, "Sure did" and then backed away slightly to meet Tony's eyes, the sight of his swollen lips, red and bruised from their kissing, and dazed expression almost causing Tony to pounce again, "was it good?"

"If it was good?!" Tony chuckled weakly, softly hitting one of Steve's pecs, "Are you kidding me? My knees literally turned into jelly!"

Steve beamed at that, pulling Tony closer and placing a kiss on top of his messy curls, "I'm glad. It's been awhile since I last kissed anyone, so I didn't want to disappoint."

"The last thing I feel at the moment is disappointed," Tony assured him, closing his eyes and delighting himself to the feeling of being held so tight by those strong arms, "fuck, you are like a big and warm marshmallow, what the hell, Cap?"

"'Suppose I am," Steve backed down again, looking deep into Tony's eyes while gently pulling his hand and placing a tender kiss to his knuckles, just like Tony had done with Natasha earlier, "I'll guess that shows not only our hands fit perfectly together, hm?"

Tony felt his entire face warm up at the lustful gaze currently bring directed at him as Steve's breath ghosted against his knuckles and caused a crushing amount of want to pool inside his stomach. He licked his own lips, suddenly feeling hungry and thirsty at the same time, as he uttered a small and simple order, "Bed. Now."

That startled a laugh out of Steve, who just shook his head and kissed the top of Tony's head again, "Not yet, sweetheart. Let me take you out on a few dates first, starting tomorrow."

Tony groaned, "Come on Steve, this isn't the forties anymore. You don't need to woo me before we have sex."

"Maybe I don't have to, but I definitely want to woo and spoil my special fella before making love to him," Steve argued, trailing kisses down Tony's neck and causing him to shudder and bite his lip.

"You are such a sap and a tease, Rogers. That's unfair."

"Hmhum," Steve humored him, seeming far too busy exploring the column of Tony's throat to argue with him. Tony ended up sighing, looking over Steve's shoulder and eyeing the living room with the inviting couch and the big television, a smug smile spreading his lips.

"Say, how about we start these dates nights tonight, but up on my floor with movies and some take-out?" He suggested gingerly, causing Steve to cease the tender assault against his neck — much for Tony's disappointment — and quirk up a brow at him. "No 'love making' yet, old man, just some cuddling, and maybe..." Tony traced a finger over the planes of Steve's broad shoulders, "some really intense make out sessions?"

Steve smiled knowingly, leaning forward and capturing his lips once more, this time, on a quick but tender kiss, "I don't see why not, but no take-outs, let's cook together instead."

Tony snorted, "And since when do you cook?"

"Since the first day you showed how to make one of your mother's Italian recipes," Steve calmly answered, causing Tony's eyes to widen considerably, which seemed to amuse him, "What? I'm a fast learner, and I do like to learn about you, so I might have been training a few recipes in hopes of surprising you with a special dinner and then confessing, Nat has been helping me with that too, but well," he shrugged, smiling, "I guess I jumped the wagon a little bit."

"I honestly cannot believe you," Tony muttered, eyes softening like they never had before. To think Steve was going through all this trouble to impress him, actually planning a whole evening where he would confess and—

He chuckled on disbelief. _Who would have thunk, huh, Howard? Your bestie is putting more thought and care into me than you ever bothered doing._

"Sure, big guy," Tony agreed softy, reaching for Steve's cheek and caressing it, feeling his heart do a flip as the smile on Steve's lips broadened beautifully and showcased his perfect teeth, "I have some secret Italian recipes my mama taught me, so we can prepare them and bundle up on the couch for a Star Wars marathon."

"That sounds great," Steve agreed, suddenly hauling Tony onto his arms on a bridal carry and causing the engineer to yelp, "off we go then."

"Steve, what the hell!" Tony laughed, softly hitting Steve's chest in disapproval, "You put me down this instant!"

"Nope!" Steve denied, popping the 'P', "I've been wanting to do this for years now, so just enjoy the ride."

Tony continued to laugh, hiding his face against Steve's neck as he stepped inside the elevator, "If anyone sees me like this, then they definitely will never respect me!"

"Oh don't worry, they will," Steve assured him, kissing his temple and pulling him tighter against his chest, "I will make sure of it."

Tony giggled — honest to god, _giggled_ — and shook his head, accepting the reassurance and enjoying the ride as Steve told him to.

It was ironic how all of this had happened because Tony wanted to prove to everyone he wasn't the smallest in the group. He had always been self-conscious of his height, growing insecure and worried that his smaller-than-average stature would look like an open invitation for vultures such as Obie to see him as easy prey, like Howard used to say he would be.

Inside the Iron Man suit he felt safer, taller, powerful... Now outside of it? There was just so much his charisma and masked smiles could keep away. He felt vulnerable as he looked, and he fucking hated it, hence why Bruce's attempt of a praise had set him off. The idea of the team — of _Steve_ — not seeing him as someone worth of respect sent his mind into a spiral of despair that he just couldn't quite handle.

But now, surrounded by Steve's warm embrace after being kissed silly by him, Tony didn't feel at all scared or insecure. In fact, he had never felt safer.

And as the night went by, with them making a mess in the kitchen while cooking, enjoying their meal while cuddling and watching the movie, or even when the movie became far less interesting than exploring each other's mouths, Tony understood one thing: If he was small, it was only because he was meant to complement Steve Rogers, who made it clear they always would stand in equal footing — no matter his height — as equals, leaders... and _partners_.

Suddenly... Being small didn't seem so bad, now did it?

**Author's Note:**

> Humor, sexy times and teeth rotting fluff, with just some mild angst. Huh. Who woulda thought I could make it? Kanjakamr
> 
> See ya next time!


End file.
